AFRICA: A TORRENT OF BLESSING (story from Bible League News)
"There was but one mosque 12 years ago,” says Rashad. "Last week we counted 17." But with prayer and persistence, Rashad and his fellow Christians were able to interest enough people in his African town to start a Bible study. Eventually seven of the town's soldiers completed the study and - in keeping with the Bible League's method of Scripture placement - they earned their own Bible. These soldiers also gave their hearts to Jesus and wanted to be baptized.

But there was no water! A severe drought had dried up all of the natural beds of water in the land. No rivers, lakes, streams, or even puddles could be found for many miles. And the skies had been cloudless for months. There was no place to be baptized.

They considered buying a barrel of water; but some of the soldiers were too large to fit in the barrel. So they rejected that idea. But the new Christians were determined. They decided to create their own baptismal. They dug a wide, deep hole in the sandy ground, and arranged to pay for the morning delivery of a truckload of precious, expensive water to fill it.

But God had another plan. That night, without warning, the skies opened up and dropped a torrent of rain onto the land. By morning the hand-dug hole was overflowing with fresh rainwater! The seven soldiers were baptized into their new life in Christ - thanks to God's gift of water!

Says their church leader, "Praise God for this wonder and for the response to faith that is being seen at the ends of the earth."  

CHINA: TOO MANY MEN
CBS's 60 Minutes recently aired a report on the alarming gender-imbalance in China as a result of its one-child policy imposed in the 1980s. China is now plagued by a host of social problems caused by the predominance of boys and men, including the heartbreaking trafficking of infant and young girls. You can read the full report at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/13/60minutes/main1496589.shtml

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I would like to introduce you to a resource for your Missions Committee from a very unlikely place—the business section of your local bookstore. The resource is Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni. I think it’s safe to assume that Mr. Lencioni knows very little about mission committee meetings in particular, but I think this book contains principles that apply to all meetings—even those of mission committees in local churches.

How many of us (myself included) have said at one time or another that we would love our jobs if it weren’t for the meetings? Lencioni takes this attitude to the mat, as he believes that for an organization (or church or mission committee) to be great, it must have great meetings. He writes, “Bad meetings, and what they indicate and provoke in an organization, generate real human suffering in the form of anger, lethargy, and cynicism. And while this certainly has a profound impact on organization life, it also impacts peoples’ self-esteem, their families, and their outlook on life.”

He advocates for change by inviting drama and conflict into meetings. In other words, we need to have something “exciting” to talk about and then discuss it in a way that gets everyone’s opinions and feelings out on the table so that the group members can benefit from each other. He also suggests having specific meetings for specific purposes. These are the daily check-ins, weekly tactical and monthly strategic meetings, and quarterly off-site reviews. All of these may not be feasible for the church setting, but the principles are. Basically, Lencioni suggests we address our vision quarterly, strategies monthly, and tactics weekly, keeping each meeting focused on its expressed purpose.

I recommend this book as a resource for your mission committee. You will need to be a bit creative in its application, but it may just hold the key to bringing life back to your committee meetings. - Dave

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Night by Elie Wiesel, translated by Marion Wiesel, Hill and Wang 2006
(Reviewed by David Korb)

I read Night years before Oprah selected it for her book club. Due to the recent attention, however, I picked up a copy of the new translation by Wiesel’s wife, Marion. I found the new translation easier to read but the story no less totally heart wrenching. The inhumanity of which we humans are capable is absolutely shameful and beyond description, even this eloquent and thoughtful man’s words. Elie Wiesel, the author, is a survivor of Auschwitz and the horror of the holocaust.

Be warned that you may need to prepare your heart and mind for the terrors Wiesel describes in Night. This is the story of how young Elie and his father were separated from the rest of their family and loaded into a railroad car, treated with less dignity than cows, and transported across the country to a concentration camp. There Wiesel endured horrendous treatment and witnessed such atrocities as babies snatched from their mothers and thrown into the air for target practice.

If you’ve never read a firsthand account of the unspeakable evils done to our Jewish brethren in the Holocaust, it is important that you read this book. Allow Wiesel’s account to pierce your heart—this, even this, is the evil our Lord hung on the cross to cover with His blood. Dark and difficult, Night is an unbridled look at evil. Reading it woke up my heart once again to man’s capacity for evil and why we do what we do. Standing on this side of the cross, Wiesel’s story gives new definition to what Jesus bore on that tree.

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times
by Donald Philips, Warner Books 1992
(Reviewed by David Korb)

I love reading stories about Abraham Lincoln. As you may be aware, he is not an easy person to figure out, be he certainly left an impressive legacy. Gary Will’s book Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America is an amazing story for those of us who make our living largely through the words we speak. Philips’ book is just as practical for those of us who lead in any capacity. Philips divides Lincoln’s leadership approach into the segments of People, Character, Endeavor, and Communication.

For example, Lincoln operated by the MBWA (managing by wandering around) principle. Phillips writes, “During his four years as president, Abraham Lincoln spent most of his time among the troops. They were number one to him; they were the people who were going to get the job done. He virtually lived at the War Department’s telegraph office… He met with generals and cabinet members in their homes, offices, and in the field… He toured the Navy Yard,…toured the hospitals to visit the sic and wounded…[and] even went to the field to observe and take charge of several battle situations himself, coming under fire at least once.”

This book is laid out for a quick read and easy access to the main points. I think that you will find many of Lincoln’s leadership principles easily transferable to what you do. This book may even provide you with material to draw from when teaching and training others.

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